Untreated Waste Discharged Into Susquehanna River

As is often the case with quickly falling rain and rapidly rising river levels, millions of gallons of sewage are being discharged into the river.

Elmira recently had troubles several days in a row with sewage flowing into the Chemung River.  Yesterday, New York State issued an alert concerning some 10 million gallons of untreated water being released into the Susquehanna River near Pennsylvania Avenue in Binghamton.

Officials say the discharges into the Susquehanna River are due not only to fast, heavy rain overwhelming normal operations, but also due to the ongoing work to fix past flood damage and aging systems.

In the case in Elmira in July, officials there said the volume of water in the Chemung River was more than enough to dilute the discharge and there was no major health concern.

Meanwhile, environmental officials are also being kept busy containing diesel fuel spilled from a train wreck in the Deposit area at the Broome County line.

More fuel spilled into the Delaware River over the weekend as crews were working to get the derailed train out of the area.  Four thousand gallons of fuel reportedly spilled when the train wrecked early August 10.

Cars carrying corrosive sulfuric acid and soil contaminated with radioactive material did not spill.

Officials had blamed the train derailment on gravel washed out by rain August 9 & 10, compromising the Susquehanna and Western Railroad tracks at Hale Eddy Road.